I never sought Indias suspension: Zia

Dubai: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Gen Tauqir Zia is still hopeful that the Indian cricket team's tour of Pakistan will come through and denies that he ever called for suspension of India from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for reneging on their commitment to visit Pakistan in December to play three Tests and five One-day Internationals.Gen Zia, who was in Sharjah to attend the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting, disclosed that Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was in Pakistan recently, "and he sounded very keen to bring the Indian team to Pakistan".The PCB chief told 'Gulf News' that Mr Dungarpur cut short his visit to Pakistan and returned to India to persuade the government not to cancel the proposed tour."After reviewing the hospitality and security arrangements in Pakistan, Mr Dungarpur had a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Vijay Nambiar in Islamabad. I don't know with whom Mr Dungarpur will hold talks in Delhi but I am convinced that the Indian Board still has hopes of coming to Pakistan," he added.India recently denied permission to the BCCI to take the Indian team to Pakistan for the cricket series, saying sporting links with the neighbouring country would be an exercise in futility as long as it continued to promote terrorism on the Indian soil.Gen Zia denied that he ever talked of suspension of India or imposition of sanctions against them for not going ahead with the proposed Pakistan tour. "I never said anything about sanctions. I only said Pakistan are going to lose so much money that we should be compensated. I don't think sanctions or suspensions are good for the game. I definitely don't want India to be out."Ruling out any "emotional or rash decision", he said he wanted ICC to work out some strategy to counter problems like one country refusing to tour another. Gen Zia admitted that he had said that Pakistan would have to review their stance regarding playing India after they called off the tour. When asked for a solution to the problem, he said "I don't have any ready-made answer, the only answer I have is, please leave politics out of sport."He said with India's decision not to tour Pakistan, the Asian Test series and the Asia Cup would also be jeopardised "because both these events are going to take place in Pakistan". The whole issue would have to be reviewed in Asia itself, he added.On ICC chief Malcolm Grey's suggestion that India would be suspended for not touring Pakistan, Gen Zia said, "The ICC will have to study the Constitution, consult lawyers and then do something."Personally, he said, "How can I think of the Indian cricket team's suspension. India and Pakistan got to go together, play and makemoney."He stressed that emotional outbursts were momentarily done. "I think we have to take stock of the whole situation and come out with a logical solution."Coming to cricketing affairs in Pakistan, Gen Zia reacted sharply to former Pakistani pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz's outburst that Pakistan should not play in Sharjah as long as former skipper Asif Iqbal ,whose names figures in the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report on match-fixing, is the Cricketers' Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) co-ordinator."If Pakistan think they should not go to Sharjah because Asif Iqbal is there, then nobody is begging Pakistan to come here," he said. Gen Zia said, "Unless someone is proven guilty, don't talk about it. Shame on those people who try to take publicity out of it."UNI